Stablecoins, the next Microstrategy, and perpetual futures ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ View Online Q2 EDITION Crypto Update Danish Ajmeri — Head of Crypto July 17, 2025 Q2 IN NUMBERS (April 1 – June 30) BTC: +30.6% ETH: +37.6% SOL: +24.9% TOTAL MARKET CAP: $3.21T USD / +18.9% Two big things that happened in crypto Hi there, My name is Danish Ajmeri, and I’m the head of crypto at Wealthsimple. We send these updates every quarter to help investors stay on top of the biggest news in the world of digital assets. We hope you’ll find them useful. If you do (and even if you don’t!), please share your feedback by hitting one of the buttons at the end of the newsletter. That’ll also bring up a form where you can submit any suggestions for crypto features you’d like to see from us in the future. Now on to the newsletter. Trump’s slash-and-burn approach to his first few months in office drove fears of a global financial crisis, which was tough on crypto. Not so in Q2. With momentum around crypto-friendly legislation in the U.S. building (more on that in a second), BTC hit a (since-surpassed) all-time high of US$110,000 in late May and has been above US$100,000 ever since. ETH saw double-digit growth over the quarter, including a spike from US$1,800 to around US$2,500 in a single week in May. Even SOL rose significantly, in spite of a drawn-out price decline due to repeated outages and declining on-chain network activity. The result? Crypto is heading into the heart of summer in bull market territory. The U.S. moved toward legalizing stablecoins A new bipartisan bill governing stablecoins was passed by the U.S. Senate and was widely expected to be ready for President Trump's signature this week. The GENIUS Act will allow U.S. companies, not just financial institutions, to hold stablecoins or even create their own, provided they follow a fairly streamlined set of rules. Like the launch of crypto ETFs in the US last year (and Canada's debut in 2021), this move would likely bring even more traditional investors into the digital asset industry. Instead of dealing with crypto exchanges and wallets, novice investors could gain exposure simply by shopping at a place like Walmart. The GENIUS Act is also a pretty big deal for two other groups: Deficit hawks. The world’s two largest stablecoins Tether and USDC, are mostly backed by U.S. government bonds, so selling more of them and other USD-pegged stablecoins would mean less federal debt and more bond opportunities for investors outside the U.S. Circle. The company that created USDC saw its stock price explode by more than 8x within two weeks of its IPO as investors looked for ways to profit on the upcoming legislation. Public companies are becoming crypto funds Remember Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the U.S. tech company that went from dotcom-bubble casualty to the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, boosting its stock price 178% in the last year? Their approach is catching on. Many struggling publicly traded companies, including Gamestop (which bought US$500M of BTC), Sharplink Gaming (US$500M of ETH), and GameSquare (US$463M of ETH) are reinventing themselves by building crypto treasuries — and turning their own stocks into a way for investors to gain indirect crypto exposure through fully licensed and regulated entities. While most crypto-keen public companies hold BTC, companies with ETH may overtake them thanks to its broader range of application and the building momentum behind stablecoins (see above), many of which will operate on the Ethereum network. What’s next? Crypto’s done pretty well this quarter, but it’s a volatile asset that moves way faster than traditional markets, so that could always change. Downward pressure on prices may come from delays or changes to the GENIUS Act or other crypto-related legislation in the U.S., a weaker-than-expected institutional appetite for crypto assets, or a sustained slowdown in world GDP growth. But given BTC’s recent performance and the momentum coming out of the U.S., this crypto bull market may keep on charging. CRYPTO 201 Perpetual Futures One of the most popular forms of derivatives in crypto right now is known as perpetual futures. Similar to options contracts, perpetual futures let investors play out hunches on asset performance without buying the asset itself. For example, if you’re bullish on BTC, you buy a long perpetual futures contract. If the price of BTC goes up, the value of your contract goes up. Unlike traditional options, perpetual futures cost about the same as the spot price of the underlying asset they represent. The benefit of using them over buying the asset is that futures give you access to increased leverage (you can put up collateral to leverage your investment but don’t have to borrow any money) and they make it much easier to short a cryptocurrency. What makes perpetual futures perpetual is that there is no expiry date. You can hold the position and strategy as long as you want. Many investors use them to hedge against existing investments or to try to make money through arbitrage, where you profit off the differences between the futures price and the spot price. All the best, Danish Ajmeri Head of Crypto We’ve officially crossed 100+ coins — and we’re just getting started Buy and sell Sui, Virtuals Protocol, Fetch.ai and over 100 other cryptocurrencies — with more on the way. Start trading Did you like this newsletter? Your feedback (even if it's mean!) helps us get better. If you're feeling chatty, after clicking you'll get the opportunity to share more detailed feedback — including topics you wish we'd cover. Yes No Wealthsimple, 80 Spadina Ave Suite 400 Toronto, ON, M5V 2J4 Refer a Friend Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Replies to this email address are not monitored. Have questions? Visit our Help Centre or submit a request to our Client Support team. 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